The present invention is directed generally to a material and method for quickly and easily producing a transparent wear resistant finish on a smooth flat surface subject to wear and more particularly to a material and method for finishing a floor, such as a wooden athletic game floor. Wooden playing floors for games such as bowling, basketball, squash, and so forth conventionally are finished with clear varnish or urethane applied in liquid form and allowed to air dry or cure to a thin, hard film. These floors require periodic refinishing, which entails sanding off the old finish down to the bare wood and reapplying another coat or coats of liquid finish. The refinishing process requires a high degree of skill to sand the floor flat and to reapply a uniform finish coating.
In addition to the expense, the conventional sanding and refinishing operations are time-consuming and require the floors being worked on to be taken out of service for at least several days. Furthermore, the fumes of natural and synthetic varnishes are disagreeable and even toxic in heavy concentrations, so that respirators or special ventilation may be required for the workmen.
Another disadvantage of conventional refinishing is the practical impossibility of applying a perfectly uniform finish coat even if done by a professional. Finally, the periodic resanding will eventually cause the floor surface to be worn down to the point where the nails securing the floor boards become exposed. At this point, the floor usually must be replaced.
Within the last decade or so, there has been increasing use of stiff laminated synthetic floor panels laid directly on a subfloor in place of conventional wooden flooring. U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,570 of MURRAY, Sr. describes such panels and the procedure for installing them in bowling lanes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,620 of MILNE proposes using such panels, or rolls of flexible floor covering material, for larger athletic floor areas such as gymnasiums and basketball courts. The top layer of these panel or roll type of floor coverings may have a photographically reproduced wood grain look, with appropriate court lines pre-inscribed.
The hard surface of the laminated panels is longer wearing than conventionally finished wood floors, but it is difficult to replace a panel that becomes damaged. In addition, there are many existing wooden bowling lanes and other types of game floors that have a long potential life before they need to be replaced.
Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide an improved finishing material and method for wooden floors and for other types of flooring materials in areas subject to heavy wear.
Another object is to provide a material and method for quickly and easily applying a replaceable finish of uniform thickness onto a floor.
Another object is to provide an improved finishing material and method in which a thin film of preselected uniform thickness may be simply unrolled and adhered onto the surface of a floor.
Another object is to provide a method of quickly and easily producing close-fitting butt joints between the edges of sheets of a thin film material applied successively to a floor in adjacent strips.
Finally, another object of the invention is to provide a floor finishing material and method which are inexpensive and efficient and which produce a durable uniform clear finish on the floor surface.